Jeff Cogen says he won't resign, survives vote by Multnomah County commissioners that he step down

Four out of five Multnomah County commissioners voted in favor of a resolution calling on Chairman Jeff Cogen to resign Thursday morning, but the resolution failed because it required a unanimous vote.

Cogen was the only one to vote no.

The resolution, even if it had passed, would not have been binding. Cogen, as an elected official, would need to be recalled by voters.

But now Cogen faces trying to serve with four fellow commissioners who have publicly expressed no confidence in his ability to lead in the wake of his affair with a county employee, Sonia Manhas.

He condemned the news media for reports that he said were filled with innuendo, and said he deserves “fact-finding before condemnation."

"I deserve a chance for the facts to come out, and the community deserves it, too," he said.

He said he would fully cooperate in the investigation and expressed confidence that the investigation will find that he engaged in no abuse of his office.

Before he spoke, Commissioners Deborah Kafoury and Loretta Smith said they could not see how he could continue to lead.

Kafoury called news of the affair, which emerged early last week, “a huge distraction.” Smith said she was sad and angry and felt compelled to “respectfully” call on Cogen to step down. He can’t continue, she said, under a “cloud of suspicion, doubt and anger."

Cogen found considerable support, however, in a parade of public commenters who came to a table with microphones mostly to urge the chairman to stand firm.

Nicolette Smith of the Buckman Sun School program, praised Cogen’s ability to communicate with the city of Portland, find outside-the-box solutions and to serve as an advocate for children.

She called his work "inspiring and admirable" and said his resignation would be an "incredible loss."

Attorney David Copley Forman, who serves on a county sustainability advisory committee, said he supports letting the investigation play out.

"I just want to make sure all the good that Chair Cogen has done for this community ... does not get overlooked.”

Another supporter said she was “happy not to be Mrs. Cogen today” but happy to live in a county under Cogen’s leadership. She urged Cogen’s fellow commissioners to “please wait until the facts are in,” and said, "There's a difference between public trust and private trust."

Pat LaCrosse, former executive director of the Portland Development Commission, said he's "extremely disappointed" in Cogen's affair but that in working with Cogen, most recently as a volunteer supporting a Portland Public Schools bond measure, has found him to be "very conscientious."

"Mr. Cogen should not resign," he said. Only voters should make that call, he said: "They and only they should make that decision."

At least a couple of people did call for Cogen to step down, including a man who identified himself as Lighting and repeatedly ordered: “Resign!”

"Shame on you," he said. "We need trustworthy people in office," he said before referring to the scandal involving former Mayor Sam Adams and his relationship with a teenager.

Mary Eng decried the treatment of Manhas. "I don't hear of anyone standing up for the woman," she said, adding that Manhas' ouster from her county job was “sexist coercion.”

After comments ended, the vote was swift. Four commissioners — Kafoury, Smith, Judy Shiprack and Diane McKeel — voted in favor. Cogen called out “No” and announced that the resolution had failed. Many among the 65 or so gathered applauded.

Following the meeting, Cogen declined to answer most questions from reporters but did say he was not behind Manhas’ forced resignation. He also denies emailing supporters to ask them to come to the meeting to speak on his behalf but said he made a few phone calls.